Ludwig Mauthner (13 April 1840 – 20 October 1894) was an Austrian

neuroanatomist Neuroanatomy is the study of the structure and organization of the nervous system. In contrast to animals with radial symmetry, whose nervous system consists of a distributed network of cells, animals with bilateral symmetry have segregated, defin ...

and

ophthalmologist Ophthalmology (, ) is the branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis, treatment, and surgery of eye diseases and disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a ...

who was a native of

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

. He studied medicine at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

, where he received his doctorate in 1861. In 1864 he was a

privatdozent ''Privatdozent'' (for men) or ''Privatdozentin'' (for women), abbreviated PD, P.D. or Priv.-Doz., is an academic title conferred at some European universities, especially in German-speaking countries, to someone who holds certain formal qualifi ...

ophthalmology Ophthalmology (, ) is the branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis, treatment, and surgery of eye diseases and disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a ...

, later becoming a professor at the

University of Innsbruck The University of Innsbruck (; ) is a public research university in Innsbruck, the capital of the Austrian federal state of Tyrol (state), Tyrol, founded on October 15, 1669. It is the largest education facility in the Austrian States of Austria, ...

(1869). In 1877 he resigned his position at

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; ) is the capital of Tyrol (federal state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the Wipptal, Wipp Valley, which provides access to the ...

, afterwards returning to Vienna as a lecturer. Later he was appointed assistant director of the Allgemeine Poliklinik, and in 1894 attained the chair of ophthalmology at the university. In 1859, while still a student, Mauthner described a fibrous structure in the

spinal cord The spinal cord is a long, thin, tubular structure made up of nervous tissue that extends from the medulla oblongata in the lower brainstem to the lumbar region of the vertebral column (backbone) of vertebrate animals. The center of the spinal c ...

of fishes that contained two large cell bodies in the animals'

metencephalon The metencephalon is the embryonic part of the hindbrain that differentiates into the pons and the cerebellum. It contains a portion of the fourth ventricle and the trigeminal nerve (CN V), abducens nerve (CN VI), facial nerve (CN VII), an ...

. These cells were to become known as

Mauthner cells The Mauthner cells are a pair of big and easily identifiable neurons (one for each half of the body) located in the rhombomere 4 of the hindbrain in fish and amphibians that are responsible for a very fast escape reflex (in the majority of animals � ...

, and are known to exist in

amphibian Amphibians are ectothermic, anamniote, anamniotic, tetrapod, four-limbed vertebrate animals that constitute the class (biology), class Amphibia. In its broadest sense, it is a paraphyletic group encompassing all Tetrapod, tetrapods, but excl ...

s as well as in fish. Mauthner cells have large-diameter

axon An axon (from Greek ἄξων ''áxōn'', axis) or nerve fiber (or nerve fibre: see American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, spelling differences) is a long, slender cellular extensions, projection of a nerve cell, or neuron, ...

s that run down the length of the spinal cord. Mauthner wrote numerous treatises in the field of

, including ''Die sympathischen Augenleiden'', a book that was translated into English in 1881 a
''The sympathetic diseases of the eye''
He was also the first to describe choroideremia.

Additional eponyms

* Mauthner's sheath: The plasma

membrane A membrane is a selective barrier; it allows some things to pass through but stops others. Such things may be molecules, ions, or other small particles. Membranes can be generally classified into synthetic membranes and biological membranes. Bi ...

of an

; also known as an axolemma. * Mauthner's test: A test formerly used for

color perception Color vision, a feature of visual perception, is an ability to perceive differences between light composed of different frequencies independently of light intensity. Color perception is a part of the larger visual system and is mediated by a co ...

Selected writings

* ''Lehrbuch der Ophthalmoskopie'', Wien 1868. * ''Recherches sur la Structure du Système Nerveux'', Paris 1868. * ''Die Syphilitischen Erkrankungen des Auges'', in: Hermann von Zeissl's "Lehrbuch der Augenheilkunde", 1873. * ''Die Sympathischen Augenleiden'',

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden (; ) is the capital of the German state of Hesse, and the second-largest Hessian city after Frankfurt am Main. With around 283,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 24th-largest city. Wiesbaden form ...

1879. * ''Die Lehre vom Glaukom'', Wiesbaden 1882. * ''Die Nuclearlähmung der Augenmuskeln'', Wiesbaden 1885. * ''Die nicht Nuclearen Augenmuskellähmungen'', Wiesbaden 1886. * ''Die Lehre von den Augenmuskellähmungen'', Wiesbaden 1889.

References

* Franz Daxecker: The Fateful Life of Prof. Ludwig Mauthner. In: Klin Mbl Augenheilk 225: S. 173–174, 2008

Ludwig Mauthner (1840-1894): Neuroanatomist and Noted Ophthalmologist in Fin-de-Siècle Vienna

biography @

Jewish Encyclopedia ''The Jewish Encyclopedia: A Descriptive Record of the History, Religion, Literature, and Customs of the Jewish People from the Earliest Times to the Present Day'' is an English-language encyclopedia containing over 15,000 articles on the ...

Mondofacto Dictionary
(definition of eponym)

External links

* Austrian ophthalmologists Scientists from Austria-Hungary 1840 births 1894 deaths Austrian neuroscientists Scientists from Prague Academic staff of the University of Vienna Academic staff of the University of Innsbruck University of Vienna alumni {{austria-med-bio-stub